Ann Cleeves: Vera and Shetland — Reading Order and TV Adaptations

Ann Cleeves is one of Britain’s most-adapted crime writers. Two of her series — Vera and Shetland — have been running on British television for over a decade and introduced her work to millions of readers who might never have found the books first.

The Vera Stanhope Series

Vera Stanhope is a Detective Chief Inspector with Northumbria Police: overweight, untidy, brilliant, and driven by something she can’t quite name. She’s one of British crime fiction’s most distinctive protagonists.

Reading order:

1. The Crow Trap (1999)

2. Telling Tales (2005)

3. Hidden Depths (2007)
4. Silent Voices (2012)
5. The Glass Room (2012)
6. Harbour Street (2014)
7. The Moth Catcher (2015)
8. The Seagull (2017)
9. The Darkest Evening (2020)
10. The Rising Tide (2022)
11. The Raging Storm (2024)

The complete Vera series is on the series page. Note the six-year gap between Book 1 and Book 2 — the series was dormant before the TV adaptation revived interest.

Vera on TV

ITV’s Vera (2011–present) stars Brenda Blethyn as Vera. The adaptation is loose: the cases are original or loosely adapted, and Blethyn’s Vera is warmer and more comedic than Cleeves’s version. The Northumberland locations are spectacular.

The show ran for thirteen series. Blethyn announced 2024 as her final series. The TV show has significantly outpaced the novels in number of episodes — most seasons use original scripts rather than adapted novels.

The Shetland Series

Set on the Shetland Islands, the most northerly point of Britain, this series follows Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez — a local man with a deep connection to the community he investigates.

Reading order:

1. Raven Black (2006) — winner of the Gold Dagger

2. White Nights (2008)

3. Red Bones (2009)
4. Blue Lightning (2010)
5. Dead Water (2013)
6. Thin Air (2014)
7. Cold Earth (2016)
8. Wild Fire (2018)

The complete Shetland series is on the series page. Raven Black won the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger — Cleeves’s first major award and a turning point in her career.

Shetland on TV

BBC One’s Shetland (2013–present) stars Douglas Henshall as Perez (Seasons 1–6) and Ashley Jensen from Season 7 onwards. The island photography is among the most beautiful in British television.

The show is somewhat more faithful to the novels than Vera but diverges increasingly in later seasons. Douglas Henshall’s departure created a different show — the introduction of Ashley Jensen’s DI Ruth Calder is an original creation with no equivalent in the books.

Which Series to Start With

Start with Shetland (specifically Raven Black) if you want: a more atmospheric, location-driven series; a Gold Dagger-winning opening novel; a slightly more complex protagonist.

Start with Vera if you want: a more immediately accessible character; shorter, more self-contained cases; the closest equivalent to the TV show’s Blethyn-as-Vera.

Both series are ultimately standalone novels despite their running characters — each book is a complete mystery. You can begin either at Book 1 and read in order, or dip in later, though the emotional arc benefits from starting at the beginning.

The Two Raven Black Novels

Raven Black is the first Shetland novel. Ann Cleeves also wrote a standalone Vera novel called — coincidentally — The Crow Trap. These are different books; don’t confuse them.